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Sun Valley, Idaho

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Sun Valley is an affluent resort community in Blaine County, Idaho, USA, adjacent to the city of Ketchum. Tourists from around the world enjoy its skiing, hiking, ice skating, trail riding, tennis, and more. The population was 1,427 at the 2000 census. Very few of its residents stay there year-round, with many people having primary homes in Boise, Twin Falls, or out-of-state (with many from California). The elevation of Sun Valley (at the Lodge) is 5920 feet above sea level.

"Sun Valley" among skiers refers to the downhill ski area, which consists of Bald Mountain, the main ski mountain, and Dollar mountain, which is geared toward novice and lower intermediate skiers. Bald Mountain (9150') has a vertical drop of 3400 feet and is popularly referred to as "Baldy." With its abundance of constant-pitch terrain, at varying degrees of difficulty, coupled with its substantial vertical drop and absence of wind, Baldy has often been referred to as the best single ski mountain in the world. The treeless "Dollar" (6638') has vertical drop of only 628 feet.

The term "Sun Valley" is also used more generally to speak of the region surrounding the city, including the neighboring city of Ketchum and the valley area winding south to Hailey. The region has been home to the rich, famous, and powerful, including Mats Wilander, Walter Annenberg, Ernest Hemingway, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Demi Moore, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

History

The first destination winter resort in the U.S. was developed by W. Averell Harriman, the chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad, primarily to increase ridership on passenger trains. The success of the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid spurred an increase in participation in winter sports (and downhill skiing in particular). Harriman determined that America would embrace a destination mountain resort, similar to those in the European Alps, such as St. Moritz. During the winter of 1935-36, Harriman enlisted the services of an Austrian count, Felix Schaffgotsch, to travel the western U.S. to locate an ideal site. The Count toured Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, Yosemite, the San Bernadino Mountains, Zion National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, the Wasatch Mountains, Pocatello, Jackson Hole, and Grand Targhee areas. Late in his trip, he was steered to the Ketchum area in central Idaho. Schaffgotsch was impressed by the combination of Bald Mountain and its surrounding scenery, adequate snowfall, abundant sunshine, moderate elevation, and absence of wind, and selected it as the site. Harriman visited several weeks later and agreed. Several thousand acres of former ranch land was purchased for about $4 per acre and construction commenced that spring. Pioneering publicist Steve Hannigan, who had successfully promoted Miami Beach, was hired and named the resort "Sun Valley." (Count Schaffgotsch returned to Austria and was killed on the Eastern Front during World War II.)

The centerpiece of the new resort was the Sun Valley Lodge, which opened in December 1936. The 220-room, X-shaped lodge's exterior was constructed of concrete, poured inside rough-sawn forms. The wood grain was impressed on the concrete finish, which was acid-stained brown to imitate wood. The Swiss-style Challenger Inn (now Sun Valley Inn) and village were also part of the initial resort, opening in 1937. Hannigan wanted swimming pools at the resort, "so people won't think skiing is too cold." Both the Lodge and the Inn had heated outdoor swimming pools, circular in shape. Hannigan had the pools designed this way, unique at the time, in the hope they would be widely photographed, providing free publicity. It worked.

The world's first chairlifts were installed on the resort's Proctor and Dollar Mountains in the fall of 1936. (Proctor Mountain is northeast of Dollar Mountain). The chairlift design was adapted from banana loading equipment used on fruit ships in the tropics. The single-seat chairlifts were developed at the Union Pacific headquarters in Omaha in the summer of 1936. The chairlift went on to replace the primitive rope tow and other technologies used at ski areas at the time.

While Bald Mountain was one of the reasons for the selection of the site, it was not initially part of the resort. The plan was to develop it as a ski mountain, but sometime in the future. Alpine skiing was still in its infancy in America, and it was believed by management that there were not enough accomplished skiers to justify its development in 1936. But it was quickly realized by the resort's restless Austrian ski instructors that this fantastic ski mountain needed to be opened to the skiing public (and promoted) as soon as possible. The instructors had been hiking up and skiing down Baldy on their off days during the resort's first few seasons. These men were among the best skiers in the world, and had fled Austria just before it had come under control of the Nazis in 1938.

For Sun Valley's fourth season, three chairlifts (in series) were installed on Bald Mountain during the summer of 1939, in the River Run area, the northeast face of the mountain overlooking Ketchum and Sun Valley. Ski runs had been cut out of the forest during the summers of 1938 & 1939. Friedl Pfeiffer, the new head of the ski school from St. Anton, Austria, wanted the lifts to go to the very top of the mountain, something that had yet to be done, even in Europe.

The loading point of the lowest chairlift (River) was on the Ketchum side of the Big Wood River, at an elevation of 5750 feet. The single chairs loaded near the parking lot, then horizontally crossed the river (about eight feet above the water) before ascending the mountain, gaining 600 vertical feet. The middle lift (Canyon) gained over 1300 vertical feet and unloaded at the Roundhouse (a day lodge at 7700', built in 1940). The upper lift (Ridge) also climbed over 1300 vertical feet, unloading at just above 9000 feet above sea level. Its lift capacity was 426 skiers per hour (7 per minute). The three chairlifts that are in approximately the same lines today are: River Run (quad), Exhibition (triple), and Christmas (quad). The original lower single chairlift was replaced in the 1960's and the loading base was moved across the river; a foot bridge has provided walking access from the parking lot to the River Run base area.

Ernest Hemingway completed For Whom the Bell Tolls (which many consider his greatest novel) while staying in suite 206 of the Lodge in the fall of 1939. Averell Harriman had invited Hemingway and other celebrities, primarily from Hollywood, to the resort to help promote it. Gary Cooper was a frequent visitor and hunting/fishing partner, as was Clark Gable. Hemingway was a part-time resident over the next twenty years, eventually relocating to Ketchum (He and his fourth wife are buried in the Ketchum Cemetery). The Hemingway Memorial, dedicated in 1966, is just off Trail Creek Road, about a mile northeast of the Sun Valley Lodge.

Sun Valley was featured (and promoted) in the 1941 movie "Sun Valley Serenade," starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Milton Berle, and bandleader Glenn Miller. Scenes were shot at the resort in March 1941. The film is shown continuously on television in the resort's guest rooms.

During World War II, the resort was closed and converted to a convalescent hospital for the U.S. Navy (Pacific Theater). It re-opened to the public in December 1946.

Noted ski film producer Warren Miller, then in his early 20's, wintered in Sun Valley from 1946-1949, first living in a car and small trailer in the River Run parking lot. Miller would later rent an unheated garage for five dollars per month and sublet floor space to friends to pitch their sleeping bags (at fifty cents per night). One of these friends was Edward Scott, the future inventor of the lightweight aluminum ski pole. This extra cash helped Miller purchase his first rolls of 16 mm movie film, jump-starting his motion picture career. During this time he evolved from ski bum to ski instructor to ski filmmaker.

In November 1964, the railroad sold the then-declining resort to the Janss Corporation, a major Southern California real estate developer headed by a former Olympic ski team member, Bill Janss. (Janss was selected to the 1940 team, but the games were cancelled due to World War II). During this era, the north-facing Warm Springs area was developed, as well as Seattle Ridge, and condominium and home construction increased significantly. In 1977, R. Earl Holding purchased Sun Valley through his company, Sinclair Oil, which operates the Little America Hotels & Resorts. Under Holding's ownership there have been substantial improvements on the mountain: extensive snowmaking and grooming, high capacity chairlifts, and day lodge construction (& renovation).

In March of 1975 and 1977, Sun Valley hosted World Cup ski races, with slalom and giant slalom events for both genders. A young Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden, perhaps the greatest technical ski racer ever, took the giant slalom title both years. American Phil Mahre, age 19, won the 1977 slalom race over Stenmark, with twin brother Steve Mahre placing third. The present ownership has declined to host any World Cup races since, as it involves closing off runs for a significant time. But during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City (300 miles to the southeast), Sun Valley was used as a training site for many nations' alpine and nordic ski teams. The alpine speed events for the Olympics were held at a sister resort, Snowbasin, outside of Ogden, Utah.

During the late 1980s, significant snowmaking was introduced on Bald Mountain. Three high-speed quad chairlifts were installed during the summer of 1988 (Christmas, Challenger, & Greyhawk). An impressive day lodge, constructed of logs, river rock, and glass, opened at the base of Warm Springs in the fall of 1992, replacing the mid-1960s "Northface Hut" cafeteria. Similar day lodges were later opened at the Seattle Ridge summit (1993), and the River Run base (1995).

Four additional high-speed quads were installed in the 1990s. Two of these replaced older chairlifts on River Run (1992) and Seattle Ridge (1993), and two cut brand new paths: Lookout Express (1993) and Frenchman's (1994). Baldy's 13 chairlifts have a capacity of over 23,000 skiers per hour. With an average of 3500 skiers per day (& less than 6000 skiers per day during peak periods), Sun Valley has kept the lift lines to a minimum, a rarity among major resorts.

The Dollar Mountain Lodge opened in November 2004. This day lodge replaces the Dollar Cabin, and also serves as the headquarters for the Sun Valley Ski School. It is similar in construction to the newer day lodges at the big mountain.

On September 11, 2005, the Dalai Lama visited Sun Valley to give a speech on understanding and friendship in remembrance of the September 11, 2001 Attacks and offered condolences to the many thousands affected by the recent Hurricane Katrina.

One City, Two Sections

A small mountain saddle splits the city of Sun Valley into two sections. The northern section is centered around the famous Sun Valley Lodge, Sun Valley Inn, and the "village" complex of shops, condominiums, and 18-golf course, which winds its way up the Trail Creek valley to the northeast. This area is referred to as simply "Sun Valley."

The southern area, called Elkhorn, has its own shopping/hotel/condo complex and 18-hole golf course, and is in many ways quite distinct and separate. This area, near Dollar Mountain, was initially developed during the late 1960's and 1970's.

Adjacent to Sun Valley is the older city of Ketchum, which is just a mile downstream of the Sun Valley Lodge (along Trail Creek). Ketchum is primarily comprised of the 19th century town center (with its limited grid system) and lands adjacent to Bald Mountain: along the Big Wood River and Warm Springs Creek.

Geography

Location of Sun Valley, Idaho
Location of Sun Valley, Idaho

Sun Valley is located at 43°40′50″N 114°20′34″W / 43.68056°N 114.34278°W / 43.68056; -114.34278Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (43.680491, -114.342711)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.6 km² (9.9 mi²). 25.6 km² (9.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.10% is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 1,427 people, 594 households, and 343 families residing in the city. The population density was 55.8/km² (144.6/mi²). There were 2,339 housing units at an average density of 91.5/km² (237.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.43% White, 0.35% African American, 0.42% Native American, 0.77% Asian, 4.20% from other races, and 1.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.15% of the population.

There were 594 households out of which 16.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.50.

In the city the population was spread out with 11.9% under the age of 18, 12.2% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 36.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 104.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $71,000, and the median income for a family was $85,000. Males had a median income of $31,979 versus $27,143 for females. The per capita income for the city was $50,563. About 2.7% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 2.4% of those age 65 or over.

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References

  • "Idaho for the Curious", by Cort Conley, ©1982, ISBN 0-903566-3-0, p.348-355
  • "Ski & Snow Country, The Golden Years of Skiing in the West 1930's-1950's", photos by Ray Atkeson, text by Warren Miller, ©2000, ISBN 1-55868-538-3
  • "Idaho", photos by John Marshall, text by Cort Conley, ©1985, ISBN 0-912856-93-9,
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